The Departed
by SaphiraCora
Summary: Modeled after Episode 80 of the 2011 anime where Chimera Ants attack Pokkle and Ponzu's group in the NGL. Ponzu promises to never leave his side, and that's a promise she intends to keep.
1. Chapter 1: An Unrested Spirit

**Disclaimer:** I do not own HxH. I also used dialogue from Episode 80 of the 2011 anime, none of which I own.

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Chapter One: An Unrested Spirit

A job. That's all it was. That's all it was supposed to be. But how did a simple job turn into so much more? The thoughts were too excruciatingly painful to linger on for any period of time. Instead of torturing herself with her thoughts, Ponzu turned her attention back to the mission.

NGL was certainly not a place to lose concentration in. This was a land of danger. The wind gently toyed with the sand under her feet as she trudged on with her group. The sun bore down on all of them. They were all gathered here for the same goal, to inspect the source of the bug leg that came to their attention not too long ago. Of course Ponzu was traveling in the group that she and Pokkle had founded together, but she tried so hard not to think of that.

She tried so hard to think about anything besides the fact that she was hopelessly in love with her traveling partner. No big deal really. It's not like she lived every day with the agony of not knowing if he felt the same way about her. Shouldn't she be content with what she has already? A steady job where she could at least see him often. How much was it really to ask for some peace of mind and happiness?

She was broken out of her painful thoughts when the group of four stopped in a clearing on a cliff. A forest was at their backs and the looked over the landscape displayed ahead. They stayed silent and observed everything around them until a definite buzzing sound shattered the silence. It grew louder and soon a few bees approached Ponzu, all of them carrying messages. She crouched down on the ground to inspect the bees.

"It didn't work…" she said. "No one received the message." She looked up at Pokkle with fear reflected clearly in her blue eyes, "That means all the other Hunters I was in contact with have been taken out."

Pokkle looked down at the ground. "Oh…" he muttered, clearly disappointed. "We should leave." He said with clarity. Ponzu stood up immediately and took a fighting stance. Pokkle's vision panned the group as he said, "Those creatures are too much for us to handle." The white haired man was trembling in his shoes. His eyes were full of fear. Pokkle continued, "We need to leave NGL and tell the world what's happening…so that an extermination force can be formed."

The frightened white haired man did not care for his reasoning. He exclaimed, "Whatever… Let's just run for it!" Suddenly the other three in the group felt a strong presence that was heading their way. They all gasped out of fright and stared at the man. He clearly did not feel what they did. This cost him greatly. He spoke again, "Or we'll all be-" but he never got to finish his sentence.

No sooner than the words escaped his mouth a large Chimera Ant emerged from the ground behind him. For him, everything went black. The dog eat dog world had granted him his final words of exclamation before the ant grabbed him from behind, ultimately killing him.

Upon the sight of such a grotesque scene, Ponzu's stomach churned. She covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened considerably in fear. _This could not be happening_. Despite Pokkle's training, his face was not spared from sporting a disturbed and terrified look. His mouth was open with shock and his arms flew back into a prepared position. He needed to take action. He needed to save his group.

For the next few minutes, Ponzu could not recall any of what she had witnessed. She remained back with a shocked expression written on her face. Her brain seemed to stop working. The world was falling apart beneath her very feet, which were glued to the ground. Everything was a blur of colors and sounds. Nothing was quite process. Only one thought emerged from her overloaded head, _Pokkle needs to be safe_.

Suddenly, she heard a thud as his body fell to the ground. No words in any language of any world could describe the feeling of gut wrenching fear that gripped her in that very moment. He was her everything. If there were any Gods above, how could they let the only thing she cared about be taken down by these monsters?

She was out of view of the two Chimera Ants in front of her. Through all of that she had remained hidden in the nearby forest. She could not fight them. There was no way. If Pokkle could not defeat such heathens, she surely had no chance. But she was indeed determined to find a way to save him. There was still time.

In a heartbeat Ponzu bolted from the scene. With every pounding of her feet on the dirt below she was a step closer to saving Pokkle. With every step she was leaving behind her frightened, helpless self and replacing it with a new, determined version.

_I can't save him myself_, she thought as she ran. Her turquoise hair blew behind her. _I'll call for help!_ She had ultimately reached this conclusion. She sprinted away even faster than before, willing to do anything possible to save him.

Agilely, she jumped down the hills as a grimace appeared on her previously frightened face. There was no room for fear any longer. _There's still… There's still time!_ She thought as she dodged the trees and bushes in her path. Nothing could get in her way. _Even if they take him, they won't eat him immediately…_

She continued down the path until she saw a small village ahead. Here she could find a place to write notes for her bees to carry out to anyone that could help. _Please… send anyone._ She stood up as she let her bees fly off to find help. A worried expression crossed her delicate face, _Please… Find a Hunter with a strong aura!_

Ponzu was truly desperate. The clear, cloudless sky seemed to mock her from above. Such a beautiful day. She quickly surveyed the village and took off running. She needed to do something. And fast. An idea crossed her mind quickly, _I must hurry back to the border! Other Hunters should be there-_

The thought remained unfinished. Just as she saw the path open up ahead she was stricken hard by a blow. Everything turned to darkness. She fell back on the ground with a shocked expression on her face. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Faintly, she could hear an evil laugh and she felt a presence approach her. Everything that was important to her flashed before her eyes.

Images from her past flickered by. She and her siblings playing in the grasses near the village in which she was raised. The smile of her parents. The faces of her friends. Everything went by so quickly until only one thing remained. Pokkle. His face was permanently etched into the back of her eyelids as she lay on the ground. _Pokkle… I won't fail you. I won't! I can promise you that I'll never leave your side. I'll never leave you again!_

More shots were fired and soon her spirit departed from her body. Under the shade of a tree she had her last thoughts to herself. They were no one else's to see. The image of Pokkle's smiling face gave her the strength to leave her body. She could only hope that help would find him. Though that certainly did not mean she was about to leave for good.

Ponzu couldn't be sure that help would find its way to Pokkle. So on that day, her spirit departed from her body but she did not leave this world. Not yet. _I promised you that I would never leave your side._


	2. Chapter 2: Hopeful Dreaming

Chapter Two: Hopeful Dreaming

When Pokkle woke up he was in a dimly lit room. His first instincts told him to book it out of wherever he was, but his sensible side got the best of him. He needed to remember to think everything through. Although he had no idea where he was, he could sense that the situation was so delicate that each and every move he made could affect the ultimate decision of whether or not he made it out alive. He lay perfectly still before surveying the darkened room. As soon as all of his senses started working properly again, he wished they hadn't.

The dirt floor underneath him was coated with layers of dried blood. His stomach churned as he caught the sickly smell of decaying bodies nearby with his sensitive nose. He was resting near a large pile of bones, which he quickly he realized (with horror) were human remains. So many unpleasant sensations were attacking him at once; Pokkle couldn't hold it in any longer. He got enough strength to get on his hands and knees before throwing up on the ground. His entire body shook as the sickness left his body. How had he gotten himself into this mess?

Sitting back down on the ground he knew that he had used up all of his remaining energy. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the ghastly scene before him. _Okay, just concentrate on how you got here. Now that you know your surroundings, you'll be able to find a way out soon enough_. Having had those thoughts, his body relaxed a little. Surely he had a little time to spare. After all, he could not go about fighting with a weak body.

Pokkle then tried to think of the last thing that came to his mind. _Where was I before I was here?_ He strained his mind to try to think but all he got as a reward was a headache. Decidedly, he was in no condition to do anything at the moment. He strained himself further by trying to get into a comfortable resting position. Unlike his attempt to remember what had happened, this effort gave him the suitable reward of rest and temporary peace of mind. _I might be here for a while before I am well again_, he thought. _I might as well be in comfort_. With that he drifted off into an uneasy yet quite restful sleep.

* * *

The feeling of warm sunshine on his skin was quite pleasant. Pokkle looked around at the scene before him; he was in a field with green grass near a river. The field was spotted with patches of blue flowers. They reminded him of something, but as much as he tried to remember he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He suddenly heard a warm voice coming from behind him. The voice rang out, "There you are! I wasn't sure when I'd see you again." Oddly enough, Pokkle felt like he knew the owner of the voice, and he was quite comforted by its familiar sound in his ear. It was sweet, even.

Pokkle tried to address the owner of the voice, but no sound came out. In fact, it seemed as though he was unable to do anything. A small rush of panic avalanched throughout his entire being. _Why can't I speak?_ The sun was at its midway point in the sky above as panic still gripped Pokkle. He heard a small humming sound distantly. _Is the voice leaving?_ He thought, as he tried to call out to it.

Pokkle was not happy at being unable to communicate so he tried to turn his head to see if he could catch the retreating figure. Yet again, he could not do anything. Again he heard the humming of a sweet melody that calmed his fears and worries.

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In an instant, the smell of sweet grasses and flowers was replaces by the smell of decaying bodies. He bolted up out of his sleep and looked around the room with sudden alertness. Although he knew that it was just a dream, he was slightly disappointed to find himself back in his original situation. _What did you expect, Pokkle,_ He scolded himself, _a nice picnic with your friends smiling at you and welcoming you with open arms? No. This is the real world. This is a real situation, so get out of your dreams and back to finding a way out of here. _Despite what he thought to himself, he lingered on the feeling of loss inside of him. It was almost as though he had unconsciously lost a part of himself.

He didn't know how long he had slept for, but he knew that his body had enough energy to get up and look around. This seemed to be enough for him. Before he could even get up on his feet though, the sounds of footsteps invaded the silence of his room. Panic surged through his body faster than a lightning bolt.

The footsteps grew louder and louder until Pokkle was faced with the sight of a Chimera Ant standing before him. If his face could have paled any more, he would have been whiter that a sheet of paper. The large ant looked down on the weak figure of the human below him and gave a short laugh. Pokkle's eyes widened in fear. How would he make his way out this one?

The Chimera Ant looked down at him and spoke with a loud, ringing voice, "Not so strong now, human." It took a step forward and spoke again, in a quieter voice as if intentionally trying to scare the living daylights out of the poor boy, "Soon enough you'll provide a hearty meal for the queen. Certainly a human with powers like you should be perfect nutrition for the king to be." The ant laughed a wicked laugh and left the room, leaving Pokkle alone with his memories.

He remembered. Oh, how he almost wished he hadn't.


	3. Chapter 3: Eternity

Chapter Three: Eternity

The memories of the events leading up to Pokkle's imprisonment nearly froze the blood in his veins. If he wasn't already on the dirty ground he would have collapsed from the brutal blow he received as they flooded his mind. Some thoughts raced through his head while others were slower than molasses. At the moment he was only completely sure of two things. One: he is trapped in a nest of highly dangerous Chimera Ants. Two: He couldn't be sure of much else.

The amount of anger and confusion and worry that boiled inside of him could have provided enough energy to power a nuclear bomb. Nothing made sense to him anymore. He was left with too many questions and not enough answers. As everything swirled around in his head the little light that was provided in the room began to dim. Everything in Pokkle's vision went dark as his body laid limp on the ground.

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When he opened his eyes, his situation seemed to be much clearer than before. Pokkle had sorted himself out while unconscious and had woken up with reality screaming in his face. Thoughts slowly sank into his head. _I am currently alive. I am too weak to move very far. I have not had anything to eat or drink in a while._ _I will most likely not make it out of here alive._

The last thought hit him the hardest. It reverberated throughout his entire being and his heart sank down to his stomach. _Why is this happening to me?_ Pokkle sat on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest and his hands wrapped around them. It was almost as if he no longer had to put effort into thinking anymore. His thoughts just passed by naturally. He was stuck within the confines of himself, unaware of much else including the outside world.

Outside of Pokkle's personal hell, there were many events occurring that he had no knowledge of. Gon and Killua were training to fight Knuckle and Shoot after Kite's death and President Netero was slowly taking out small armies of Chimera Ants with his team. However, none of these outside events had any effect on the lonely peach haired man sitting alone in a room full of bones and bloodstains. Even if something did happen in his area, there was not much that could wake him from the trance he was in.

Days slipped by without recognition was Pokkle remained inside his thoughts. His condition was slowly worsening, not only physically, but mentally as well. _What if I caused the death of all my friends?_ He thought as he pulled his knees closer to his chest. _For all I know the Chimera Ants have already taken over the world. For all I know I could be the last human alive. What if I am?_

The worrisome thoughts looped around his unstable mind constantly. He was now hiding inside a massive pile of bones in the very same room in which he woke for the first time. The Chimera Ants on duty were punished for losing such a precious human. They hadn't the senses to tell that in fact, he was right there with them, slowly fading from the tangible world.

Pokkle was constantly plagued by new fears. _Ponzu! Where's Ponzu? Is she still alive? Oh please let her be alive._ If he were in a less dangerous situation he would have been rocking back and forth from his anxiety. Tears leaked from his eyes as he shuddered inside his cave of bones.

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Sleeping quickly became something he looked forward to. When he was asleep he never had nightmares. He would never be bothered by his thoughts. Sleeping brought him peace. It brought him to a green field near a river. It brought him to a place where he could smell the sweetness in the air and see the blue sky again. He could watch the puffy clouds roll by and hear the leaves rustle as the branches of the heaven reaching trees swayed in the warm wind.

Of all the nice sensations sleeping brought him, there was one in particular he looked forward to the most. The voice. The calming voice that reached out to him and sang sweetly in his ears. The voice that beckoned to him, soothed him. There were no longer any worries. Pokkle no longer experienced the pain of hunger and dehydration. When he was sleeping, there was only him and the voice. It was only fair for life to give him one nice thing amidst all the pain he experienced in his few waking hours. Sleep began to consume his schedule as his body tried to conserve energy.

During one of his longer periods of being awake, footsteps yet again echoed down the hall. The noise grew louder and suddenly a dagger of fear pierced Pokkle's heart. This was a new Chimera Ant he had never experienced before. This was a Chimera unlike anything that he could have thought of.

The soft footsteps walked toward the center of the room and halted. A new voice rung out through the air. It was sickeningly sweet to the point of a psychotic level of danger. "Where is the special human?" The voice asked. Another Chimera Ant responded after a short pause that was filled with dread, "I… I don't know. We lost him a few days ago." It's voice shook with the fear of being punished for losing such a valuable human.

The new voice had an answer though, "What do you mean you lost him?". The voice had no feeling of anger in it, which scared Pokkle. He could almost feel the tension in the room multiply.

"He's right over there" the voice said-no- _purred_. Ice shot through Pokkle's body as terror gripped his heart. _She knows_.

* * *

Needless to say, for the remainder of his time in the Chimera Ant nest, Pokkle was barely considered alive anymore. The Chimera Ant who had found him, Neferpitou, used him as a tool to find information about nen. While she had complete control over his body and forced him to respond to her questions, she did not have control over the real Pokkle. The real Pokkle was not the person who was responding. He was somewhere deep inside his head, dreaming.

The soft grasses that tickled his fingers were the same. The river was the same. The warm breeze that caressed his hair was also the same. Nothing had changed, except him. Little by little he could begin to move his body. First it was his fingers, then his hands. Soon he could move his arms and his torso. He also began to be able to think more.

All the while he could hear the voice singing softly in the background. The sweet melody made his heart flutter and he closed his eyes and listened to the voice sing. He could now move his head around but he could never turn it enough to catch a glimpse of the owner of that beautiful voice that brought him companionship and comfort.

After a while, the voice stopped singing and Pokkle could move his feet around. He panicked for a minute, _What if the voice is leaving me?_ As if the voice heard his thoughts, it responded, "Don't worry, Pokkle, I'm still here. I'll always be here, and I always have been."

Pokkle smiled and his heart leapt up toward the soft clouds in the perfect sky. He wanted to leave his place on the ground. He wanted to join the voice and walk around in the soft grass. He wanted to taste the refreshing water of the river nearby and watch the birds fly away.

The sun began to set in the sky. This was the first time he had ever seen a change of day in this place. By now Pokkle could almost stand up. He moved his legs excitedly and clasped his hands together. It was time.

Pokkle finally stood up from his place on the ground and stretched out his legs. The anticipation in his heart made his whole being shake as he slowly turned around. His eyes widened as if he had never seen such beauty before in his life. He took her in piece by piece. She wore a white dress that fluttered as the breeze passed by. She wore no shoes on her bare feet and she seemed free. Her turquoise hair blew back gently and the orange light from the setting sun made her flawless skin glow.

She was the owner of the voice. Pokkle took a step closer towards her and this time it was his voice that called out to her, "Ponzu". He walked forward towards her. He began with her fingers, laced through his and continued on to her hands. He squeezed hers in his own and enjoyed the soft touch of her skin. Next were her arms as she let go of his hands and wrapped him in an embrace. Their bodies were pressed together as they became the sweetest melody.

Ponzu rested her head on his shoulder and a single tear escaped from her blue eyes. Reluctantly, she withdrew slightly and faced him. Pokkle still held her waist as the sun continued to dip behind the horizon. Their faces were so close to each other that their noses almost touched.

"I promised you that I would never leave your side" she murmured as she gazed into his soft, brown eyes. Pokkle smiled and looked down at the radiant girl before him. The beautiful girl who was in his arms. The beautiful girl who was mirroring his affection. The beautiful girl whose lips were pressed against his own.

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Author's Note: That's the end, folks! I hoped you enjoyed reading this story. Please review!


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